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Submit your Home Movies and become part of Music Hall history

Filmmakers, photographers and home movie enthusiasts with footage of the Music Hall are invited to share their images or footage with us as we continue to seek out stories and memories of Aberdeen’s iconic Music Hall.

Polished film footage and amateur home videos alike could be woven into a special performance on Friday 1 April, called Your Hall Your Story. This will be a celebration of the Music Hall’s past, present and future ­- a night of live story telling from those who’ve shared their memories, worked behind the scenes or have a tale to tell about the building itself. The event is all part of the building’s Lights Oot! closing weekend programme of events as it prepares for a £7m transformation.

Aberdeen Performing Arts (APA), the company which runs the city centre venue, is gathering images and film footage of the building to incorporate into the Music Hall’s Lights Oot! and Your Hall Your Story programme. Whether it’s a striking scene featuring the building itself, a passing glance of its grand pillars as a parade makes its way down Union Street, or even an image of you on stage, all footage featuring the Music Hall is welcome.

Stories and memories have already come flooding in through APA’s Your Hall Your Story campaign, from those who have performed on the stage, sat (or danced) in the auditorium or worked behind the scenes at the Music Hall over the decades. The Your Hall Your Story performance on Friday 1 April will weave together the moments and memories you’ve shared with us, some funny, some inspiring, many unbelievable and all true.

The evening will be compered by Scottish entertainer Robert Lovie and directed by Dougie Irvine, who created The Lemon Tree’s sell out Christmas show A Ladder to the Stars.

“Preparations are well underway for the exciting transformation of the Music Hall. As part of the venue’s closing weekend and in celebration of its history, we would like to invite everyone to hunt through their home movie archives for any footage of the Music Hall that we might include in the Your Hall Your Story performance,” said APA’s Artistic Producer Lesley Anne Rose.

“The venue has a prime position on Union Street and over the decades it has been the backdrop to many a special occasion – from parades the length of Union Street to graduations and the switching on of the city’s Christmas lights. It’s been the stage for many of the city’s choirs and the place where many met their future husbands or wives. The building has witnessed the city being blitzed, the famous receiving of the Freedom of the City and represents the history of social, amateur and professional entertainment. And we think that’s worth celebrating.”

She added: “The history of the building is made up of all of the individual stories of those who have performed on its stages, worked behind the scenes and attended all kinds of concerts, comedy gigs and other performances. We would love to see any or all of those special moments come to life in film.

“As a hub for live music and cultural events, the Music Hall has been at the forefront of arts in the city, but it has also been an important fixture in the background of everyday life, and I’m sure it will feature in many a home video.”